My column this week on SportsIllustrated.com deals with the legislative fight over MMA in New York State. At the center of this battle, as you probably know, is Assemblyman Bob Reilly, who is a committed opponent of the sport. Mr. Reilly and I are obviously on different sides of the issue, but he was gracious enough to take the time and explain his position, and for that I thank him. Part one of our talk is below. Check back for part two later today, and head on over to SI for UFC VP of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner’s response to Reilly’s arguments against the sport.

You’ve said before that this isn’t your big issue, that you’re really into agriculture. And yet this is the issue that’s gotten you the most attention. Do you still feel like you’re reluctant opponent of MMA, because you seem to have embraced it rather eagerly of late.

That’s a tough question to answer. What happens is, in the state legislature, with the hundreds of laws we vote on and a budget of maybe $120 billion with a $14 billion deficit and a worldwide financial crisis, there are many, many things we look at. And when I said agriculture is one thing I’m interested in, that’s one thing. I’m on the sub-committee on agriculture, but I’m also on the Racing and Wagering Committee, I’m on the Corporations Committee, so there are many other things I do besides this.

But do I think this is an important thing? Yes. I think it’s going to be harmful to people. I think it’s going to be harmful to our society and harmful to our economy. So it’s one of things I address. The legalization of MMA in New York State, I would say the only person pushing that or interested in it is Steve Englebright, the sponsor. There aren’t a lot of other legislators pushing for it. As I explored it further and became more educated on it, I changed my opinion and become more opposed to it.

You say it’s going to be harmful to people. How, specifically, will allowing live events of this sport in your state harm people?

Well, there’s different parts to that answer and when I answer one part of that question I extend it. Let me give you one example of what I consider the problem and that’s the unsavory, sordid, corrupt process for legalization of this. Just recently I asked an aide to look into the firing of the past chair of the State Athletic Commission, who was replaced by a woman (Melvina Lathan) who in fact had worked for [UFC VP of Regulatory Affairs] Marc Ratner, who now has a primary interest in Ultimate Fighting. And this woman is going to be our primary regulator in New York State? What is the connection and who brought her into this position of getting this chair?

Her statement upon getting the position was about how she supports MMA, which I found very suspect. When I attended a meeting with her she demonstrated that she knew nothing about the sport. And yet her support for the sport was one of the first things that she focused on after being appointed. It’s that type of suspicious activity that really questions the sport. I think we’re down the road toward the corruption in boxing, and what happened to the fighters, the corruption in the sport.

But how do you get from any of that to the conclusion that this sport is harmful to people?

Well one of the rules, do you know the five criteria for judging by Pride?

For Pride? Yes.

One of the criteria is damage to your opponent, okay? There’s no other sport that I know of where damage to the opponent is a criteria for winning. In fact, in every other sport, damage to an opponent, the rules work to avoid that, whether it’s boxing or wrestling or whatever. Here, that’s one of the goals. I don’t think you have to say much more than that.

But for one, that was Pride, which had several rule differences between itself and the UFC, and two, harming your opponent to the point of unconsciousness is one of the ways you win a boxing match, isn’t it?

It’s not a stated goal, though. Even though I grew up a boxing fan and consider myself one still, though I’m not an active fan now, I compare what we should be doing to the difference between amateur boxing and professional boxing. You know how much safer amateur boxing is? A blow in amateur boxing is scored for being a clean blow, not by the force behind it or the damage it causes.

I once had a man come to me and say, ‘My nephew is a jiu-jitsu fighter who does MMA, and he has an advantage because of that. What I’m really interested in is the skill of how he puts his jiu-jitsu skills against a boxer or whomever.’ I asked him, if that’s the case, why don’t people want to watch just jiu-jitsu? Why isn’t that as popular? In other words, I strongly believe, you take the violence out of this and it would lose its appeal. Is it very popular with a certain segment of the population? Certainly. Is collegiate wrestling as popular? No.

How does the stated intent of the sport really change the effect that watching it has on people, who may or may not know the stated judging criteria?

First of all, I have looked at all the studies that show violence begetting violence. And it’s clear that whether it’s in the media or in a live sporting event, violence does beget violence. I’ve always felt it makes people immune to such violence. But the types of things that you see in mixed martial arts are exactly what we don’t want to see in schools. In the legislature here we are putting in laws all the time against bullying in schools and domestic violence. And when you’re trying to stop that and then you’re legalizing the same type of violent activity it’s hard to believe that kids can distinguish one from the other.

Most people I know find it offensive to see a woman grab another woman by the hair and knee her in the stomach. I find that offensive. Even the proponents of Ultimate Fighting indicate this is widespread among high school students, that they go into their basements and imitate this kind of stuff. That’s exactly what we’re trying to prevent in other legislation. Some of the responses I’ve gotten, mainly through blog sites, have been very on the edge with the kind of intense emotion this arouses in some people. I think that the body of literature supports that viewing violence through various media does in fact generate violence.

When you talk about schools and domestic violence and relating that to a professional MMA bout, aren’t you purposely taking it out of context? We wouldn’t want kids in classrooms imitating what they see in boxing or football either, would we?

No, let us take the case of boxing. When I start viewing this now, more recently I’ve seen ads for boxing that really emphasize blows to the head and pictures of the face being pushed to the side, and I think that’s a bad idea to show kids, so I can’t deny that that’s also important. I think if we could change the sorry history of boxing, we as a society would probably do it. But as far as something like football, I don’t see anything wrong like that with a good hard tackle in football.

One blogger said to me, there are more deaths in fishing than there are in mixed martial arts. But in those sports the purpose is not to do harm to your opponent and there’s a lot of difference between a good hard tackle in football and what happens in mixed martial arts. You see the rule changes in football, that are criticized by some, to bring greater protection to players, especially quarterbacks, and that shows they are interested in protecting and not harming players.

Is it fair then to say you’re against combat sports in general, whether it’s MMA or boxing or kickboxing, since it all involves the intent to harm one’s opponent?

Absolutely not. The only sport I’m against is mixed martial arts. I have people come up to me just about on a daily basis, unsolicited, and say, ‘You’re doing the right thing. This stuff is just brutal.’ People turn this on when they’re scanning through the channels, that’s their only exposure to it, and there are people kicking each other in the head. As one of my aides saw recently, one guy punched the other guy, he was knocked out and falling to the ground, and as he fell the other guy kneed him in the head. People see this and they are really offended and disgusted by it. They see the violence in it. They don’t come up to me and talk that way about boxing or football.

Isn’t it possible that they have that reaction because MMA is still fairly new and that’s what’s shocking? You say violence has a desensitizing effect, so doesn’t it make sense that these people would not have that reaction to football or boxing, which they’ve grown up with? In other words, how do you know it’s not just the novelty of MMA that people are responding to?

That’s possible. People could eventually become immune to mixed martial arts.

Have people become immune to the violence in boxing? Because boxing is two men punching each other in the head and body repeatedly. That’s violent, obviously, and yet it’s legal and happens regularly in New York.

Have people become immune to the violence in boxing? Maybe. Our society and our standards of what’s acceptable change. They haven’t for me, though.

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Cap'n- March 15, 2009 at 8:19 am

oooookay. Now lets have an interview with challenging questions and rebuttles. Maybe BG would be better suited as a softball pitcher instead.

JiMMA- March 13, 2009 at 8:54 pm

What makes me angry reading this is that he backs his view on the sport entirely on his own personal 'morals' and his own deciphering of what is 'right' and 'wrong', 'good' and 'evil'!

This man believes, in essence, that the fighter is a person opperating out of negative emotion, a fighter hell-bent on evil intension with no sense of professional sportsman like respect or valor.

This can not be further from the truth and as he opposed Melvina Lathan from the chair position, I belive that for the same reasons the person opposing the legalization of MMA in NY should not have a personal vested opinion on the matter.

In other words, FUCK BOB REILLY AND HIS CLOSE MINDED OPINIONS ON MMA!

Anonymous- March 13, 2009 at 3:17 pm

this guy is a complete moron, tell him to explain why he is against mma, then ask him if the state allows kickboxing, wrestling, bjj, boxing, muay thai, tae kwon do, judo whether it is professional or amateur. Then ask him how many children partake in these sports, and ask him to explain why children are allowed to participate in these and why are they allowed in the state if violence begets violence. Can he explain why many of these are olympics sports, and ask him why should it be legal for those sports to be done individually, but you can mix them together and that makes it illegal.

and he talks about damage, and how in boxing its not a specific goal. well what the fuck are you talking about of course it is your goal is to knock your opponent out. boxing is so much more dangerous, look how many blows to the head are there and as long as they get up they can keep going. i mean look at Ali and how fucked up he is. this moron talks about pride and their rules for mma, does this douche not realize that pride does not exist anymore way to prove your argument not.

anyway i could read the whole interview and cant talk about this moron anymore cause it pisses me off so much. how about worry about the economy and crime rates in your state and how your could try to eliminate crime and deficits.

Dante- March 13, 2009 at 3:13 pm

This assemblyman is obviously clueless to his intent and is probably being fueled by ulterior motives. He's nothing more than a lobbyist fueled by contradiction and lack of knowledge. I'm 21 and I'd school this wanna-be politician. Give me a break.

Please stick to Agriculture.

schnetzler- March 13, 2009 at 2:44 pm

"...valid point..."

referring to Kadumel's first comment

schnetzler- March 13, 2009 at 2:08 pm

also remember the 2 great blunders in world history...

never start a land war in Asia...and never get into a battle of wits with a Sicilian, when death is on the line...

you make a very valid point, though

Doof- March 13, 2009 at 1:58 pm

That made my head asplode. I don't think he actually answered a question.

I love MMA, but I can see why he's against it. The MAJORITY of the UFC audience are "casual fans" and watch it b/c it's cage fighting. Look around at the bar, a lot people just want to see violence and aren't interested in the technique. They watch it for the violence.

Obviously violence can be found in many areas, but Mr. Reilly doesn't have much of a chance of banning boxing or professional wrestling, but he can do something about MMA.

In the end MMA will prevail. FUCK BOB REILLY! I hope someone delivers a knock out blow to him and knees him in the face on his way down, then grab his wife by the hair and knee her in the stomach!

The Irish Wolfhound- March 13, 2009 at 1:24 pm

I like how he calls that chicks motives into question where he's obviously just piggybacking this to national hype.

BRETTZKY- March 13, 2009 at 1:15 pm

Ben, my congratulations for restraining yourself. I wanted to smash something just reading his retarted answers and reasoning. Keep up the good work.

emo sux- March 13, 2009 at 12:56 pm

"Our society and our standards of what is acceptable change. They havent for me though." -Reily .....If you as a politician cannot evolve with the society you represent, then you have no business representing anyone.

Artigale- March 13, 2009 at 12:22 pm

lol I can not wait to read the rest. Make that old man back peddle BF!!!

I wonder if he believes what he is saying or sees this as a good way to make a name fore himself.

Sodak- March 13, 2009 at 12:05 pm

you ruined that guy nice interview, "how do you get from any of that to the conclusion that this sport is harmful to people" my favorite line, laughed out loud.

HB Beachbum- March 13, 2009 at 12:04 pm

What a tool..

Richard Fitzentite- March 13, 2009 at 11:56 am

Make him answer how it harms people (spectators). He is avoiding the clarification to his own stupid statement.

Also ask him his current stance on pro wrestling (WWE, TNT etc). Ask him how he feels about a man diving from the top of a steel cage onto another who is laying on a folding table, or how they hit each other with chairs and guitars and florescent light tubes. Talk about harming your audience, there are kids giving their little brothers a pile driver in the living room all over the country. Kids die every year from imitating pro wrestlers.

This douche is contradictory and just flapping his gums about MMA because Agruculture won't get him a US Senate Seat.

lilbigvince- March 13, 2009 at 11:54 am

this dude is an idiot. hes from another time and another place. hes an old man with different interests than us. hes not gonna see things our way. fuck him. let the UFC throw some more money his way and itll open up NY like a 3 dollar ho.

whats the big deal about NY anyway. We have Vegas and LA... we dont need NY. sure itll be nice, but we dont NEED it.

BuckWild- March 13, 2009 at 11:53 am

I think his ideas are a violation of our right! Who is he or any committee to decide if we get to watch boxing over mma. If parrents don't want their kids to watch it then they need to be more involved in the kids life and make sure they know what they are watching. It is not up to politicians to decide which violent sport we should or shouldn't watch. I think if they ban mma for the sake of violence begetting violence they should ban ALL VIOLENT SPORTS!

I mean, think about it. With boxing the whole purpose it to knockout your proponent! With mma you can ko or submit . Submittions are far less "violent" .

Someone needs to list all injury related stats for the two sports side by side and show this guy.

oh and the reason this guy has people coming up to him and telling him he is doing the right thing is because he lives in a community of like minded people that probably don't know the first thing about mma and are totally ignorant about it. I could go to Las Vegas in an area where there are a lot of mma gyms after being all over the news as a supporter of the sport and I bet people will come up to me and tell me I am doing the right thing!

Jason G- March 13, 2009 at 11:52 am

COOL! does make a very valid point...

Dr. Gonzo- March 13, 2009 at 11:30 am

Ha!Ha! Cool is back!! Teach me your ways you fucking clown!!

Chilkat- March 13, 2009 at 11:28 am

it's really frustrating just to listen to politicians get the God Complex, and try to legislate every single aspect of peoples lives for their "own good." as if people are to stupid to make decisions or themselves. it especially is painful to listen to his responses since there such obvious hypocrisy in regards to the sanctioning of pro wrestling and boxing in NY. also, lol at him making the lame ass, what about the children? arguement, it seems like whenever somebody doesnt have much to go on thats the go to rebuttle.

Dmonicideals- March 13, 2009 at 11:28 am

Cool, i'm gonna find your faggot ass and chop your head off.

It is amazing how wide a circle this guy can talk in. You ask a question, and he just says the same thing over and over, but he reaches farther with every word.

C-Bus Allstar- March 13, 2009 at 11:27 am

And on the actual interview: I'm amazed by the shit spouting that comes out of this prick's mouth. It sounds to me like he was a shoe-in for the chairman of the board for this particular committee and got beat out by a woman and now he's pissed off and prejudiced. He just doesn't realise how much of a tool he's making himself look like by being a fucking crybaby bitch.

C-Bus Allstar- March 13, 2009 at 11:17 am

Someone needs to IP ban that 8===D faggot.

Vincent D.- March 13, 2009 at 11:16 am

Good job Ben.

It makes me happy to see intelligent proponents of MMA. Good work on not getting frustrated enough to call out the congressman too (I know I'd have a tough time dealing with his lack of common sense).

JamesVan- March 13, 2009 at 11:13 am

"You say it’s going to be harmful to people. How, specifically, will allowing live events of this sport in your state harm people?

Well, there’s different parts to that answer and when I answer one part of that question I extend it. Let me give you one example of what I consider the problem and that’s the unsavory, sordid, corrupt process for legalization of this."

Bob Reilly is the Sarah Palin of NY Assemblymen.

Hebrew Hammerfist- March 13, 2009 at 11:09 am

This question and answer really bothers me....

Is it fair then to say you’re against combat sports in general, whether it’s MMA or boxing or kickboxing, since it all involves the intent to harm one’s opponent?

"Absolutely not. The only sport I’m against is mixed martial arts. I have people come up to me just about on a daily basis, unsolicited, and say, ‘You’re doing the right thing. This stuff is just brutal.’ People turn this on when they’re scanning through the channels, that’s their only exposure to it, and there are people kicking each other in the head. As one of my aides saw recently, one guy punched the other guy, he was knocked out and falling to the ground, and as he fell the other guy kneed him in the head. People see this and they are really offended and disgusted by it. They see the violence in it. They don’t come up to me and talk that way about boxing or football."

So, he has never seen a boxing match where the guy gets rocked, gets the standing count, and then is allowed to continue dazed out of his mind?

Or he hasn't seen a boxer get smached in the corner by 15-20 punches, as his hands drop and his body crumples?

Or, he hasn't seen a football player pruposely tackle someone so hard, they knock the helmet downfield and then celebrate like they killed someone in battle?

Someone needs to take this guy to some Amatuer events in Atlantic City and other parts of New Jersey, where the rules for amatuer MMA and Muay Thai are strict as it is, so he can see how wrong he is.

I am ashamed that he represents my state and decisions that directly effect the economy.

andino- March 13, 2009 at 11:06 am

Both made excellent points. But the question about the desensitizing effect of violence, asked by yours truly, seems to have caught him off guard. Good Job. You got to give it Bob, he's a politician for a reason, his answers to some of those questions are spot on. Lets go MMA!!!!

kylemac- March 13, 2009 at 11:05 am

There is literally fist fighting in hockey, bloodied faces, checking of people into the boards, and wrist slashings with sticks in the sport of hockey, which happens nightly all over New York. To have this man say that he is particularly against MMA and no other combat or contact sport is blatant and blind prejudice. How can a democratic authority be allowed to take such a stance, without outcry.

xocgx- March 13, 2009 at 11:03 am

Every time I start to understand a point he is making, he comes back with madness....that a good hard tackle is not so bad...how many people have ended careers with a good hard tackle? Joe Theisman??

you should have explained that epople DO watch just BJJ, or just wrestling....just like people watch home run Tournaments. However, more people watch the events that encompass everything.

Aryan- March 13, 2009 at 11:00 am

i agree with everybody and nobody

Ouch! That hurts- March 13, 2009 at 10:47 am

Wow, I never thought of it like that, since watching MMA I have started beating my wife and kicking my son in the head. Now it all makes sense, thanks old guy!

Dedstrk- March 13, 2009 at 10:45 am

Holy Schnikies! This guy is unreal. He can't see the forest for the trees if you will. If you outlaw MMA because of violence you need to outlaw every other combat sport, hockey, and football.

Meohfumado- March 13, 2009 at 10:41 am

yeah, my handle is a bastardization of the word because it was the only way I could be guaranteed the ability get it on nearly every forum I log onto.

Steve4192- March 13, 2009 at 10:40 am

"Another thing that bugged me was his reference to Pride. "

Agreed.

Ben should have turned that around him and pointed out that Pride was unregulated and that was exactly the kind of thing that sanctioning could address. As others have pointed out, the sanctioned 'unified rules' do not have damage as a scoring criteria. If anything, Pride's scoring criteria is an argument IN FAVOR OF sanctioning, not against it.

auzzy- March 13, 2009 at 10:39 am

I think its a smokescreen like that one guy said. No politician takes a stand this hard against something unless he stands to gain something in public or not so public. Maybe something like senior citizen votes for a future campaign? Or a certain type of "gift" from a future lobbyist or group willing to support him. Politicians always deal with extremes, your either red or blue, either pro-life or against life, they never state you can take a middle road or maybe figure out a more intelligent form of plan or program. I think he is trying to set himself up as the moral high road kind of campaigner in the future.

Anonymous- March 13, 2009 at 10:30 am

damage and violence is a cop out ,there just not enough people getting "greased"
to make it happen

rokabee- March 13, 2009 at 10:29 am

Has he looked at the research done on mma? Seriously, he needs to understand that people who watch(and understand) and fight mma are probably more intelligent than those of most other sports, and can decipher the difference between whats right and wrong, as when I was in school I saw a kid get hit by a freakin chair because him and his dad were watching WWF (it was F at the time so eff it.) I don't remember where I heard it from but someone said something about fighters having degrees. like 80% have a college degree. Thats insane for a sport that doesn't require you to go through college to get to the big show. His only facts are, "I've seen what I've seen and its barbaric." He actually has no other reasoning that matters besides the fact that he holds a grudge against mma and is upset that he can't control its uprising.

NinJay- March 13, 2009 at 10:28 am

This is just plain frustrating. I honestly cannot even begin to comprehend how this guy thinks and why he thinks it. I think Stupid Noob might be on to something. Who are his supporters and do they have a vesting interest in keeping MMA out of NY?

He contradicts himself to the point where I had to scroll up and read it again.....boxing is ok but MMA isn't? Huh? If you are going to take this hard line stance then at least be consistant in your argument and call for the ban of all combat sports, not just MMA.

Another thing that bugged me was his reference to Pride. Ben should have told him that Pride was a Japanese organiztation and they the rules they used were very lax and since the ufc has purchased Pride they have not used those rules since. Ufc has great rules that are put in place to make sure the fighter doesn't get seriously hurt. No knees to a downed opponent. No blows to the back of the head. No elbows with the point of the elbow. No groin shots...this list goes on and on. Sure when "ultimate fighting" first came onto the scene it was much more brutal....but so was boxing in the early years. Now they both have rules that most all states can agree are good enough.

Ben, please tell me at some point in the second part of your interview you simply just say "Reily......do you hear yourself? You make yourself out to sound very very stupid"

Anonymous- March 13, 2009 at 10:27 am

think it could be that organized crime wont let the politicians make a move till they get a piece of the pie lined up

mayhem420- March 13, 2009 at 10:25 am

"But how do you get from any of that to the conclusion that this sport is harmful to people?"

"Well one of the rules, do you know the five criteria for judging by Pride?
One of the criteria is damage to your opponent, okay? There’s no other sport that I know of where damage to the opponent is a criteria for winning. "

Right here you can tell he has no idea what the hell he is talking about.
Pride is gone and dead... they were also a Japanese promotion who had a history of being corrupt and didnt test for banned substances.
If your going to argue a point then at least KNOW who and what you are talking about. If you going to give reasons why you dont approve at least go by the unified rules that we have here in the US.

Scoring once at the judges is based on:

Effective Aggressiveness.
This is determined as the fighter showing most effort to win.

Cage/ Ring Control. This is assessed by determining which fighter has used the fighting area to his / her advantage the most.
Defence / Escapes.
This area includes avoiding and blocking of strikes, reversals from pins and mount, escapes from submissions i.e. transitioning to avoid a submission, etc. etc.

I dont see DAMAGE in here anyplace.

LoneWolf- March 13, 2009 at 10:15 am

Totally Agree with Batman

!!!- March 13, 2009 at 10:14 am

What the hell is this guy talking about?? He has no idea what MMA today even is!

"Most people I know find it offensive to see a woman grab another woman by the hair and knee her in the stomach. I find that offensive."

Grabbing hair? What the...?

"You see the rule changes in football, that are criticized by some, to bring greater protection to players, especially quarterbacks, and that shows they are interested in protecting and not harming players."

And rules in MMA have changed since UFC 2 you dumb fuck.

LoneWolf- March 13, 2009 at 10:13 am

but regarding this guy....his points on violence are contradictory, I think CP made a great point to reiterate the point of boxing and other violent sports, and how he is taking this out of context when he talks about Violence in the classroom etc. I really hope there aren't to many more people with a vote that can ruin having MMA in NY.

LoneWolf- March 13, 2009 at 10:09 am

(KOZURE OKAMI: MEIFUMADO translated as CROSSROADS TO HELL)
-Meifumado, the path between heaven and hell, always prepared to die.

First exposed to this on Lonewolf and cub. An amazing read if any of you get a chance....

Im not a moose- March 13, 2009 at 10:06 am

This guys level of douche baggery is off the charts...

pongen- March 13, 2009 at 10:06 am

Sounds like he has gotten punched one too many times.

What a tool

Cory- March 13, 2009 at 10:04 am

the ignorance level is through the roof. i dont think i wanna read part two.

Spinning L-Bow- March 13, 2009 at 10:03 am

good point batman!

Dynamite!!- March 13, 2009 at 10:02 am

i loved the last part of the interview. it's so true. people who grew up on boxing aren't going to work and giving their co-workers bosy shots or punches to the face.
just like children growing up on mma aren't going to grow up trying to muay thai clinch or gogoplata their peers.

Geriatric Peon- March 13, 2009 at 9:55 am

He uses the justification that people approach him in the street and tell him he is doing a good job, so if the masses approve of him he must be right. But he also says he gets a ton of mail saying that he is wrong from people who are emotional about it, so the masses are emotionally against him so he must be right............ wait, what did I just say

Batman- March 13, 2009 at 9:55 am

"I think that the body of literature supports that viewing violence through various media does in fact generate violence"

If this is in fact true, shows like CSI, Cold Case Files and other crime shows, that actually showcase crimes and offer clues of where the criminals went wrong, are far more dangerous and harmful to society than watching 2 fighters legally fight in an organized and controlled environment.

@ Sarcasm Spasm

Don't forget, we should also ban any form of self defense because it only leads to violence. If nobody knows how to fight, nobody will fight.

biohazardone- March 13, 2009 at 9:52 am

Wow, this man really has not idea what he is talking about. He appears to be rambling about various things and not really answering any questions. This man is a perfect example of people that refuse to change or adapt to their surroundings as well as the world. History has shown that people who are unable to adapt will usually not last.....Bob Reilly is headed toward the same path. Ignorance will get u nowhere.

Jenna Jamesons Labiaplasty- March 13, 2009 at 9:51 am

This guy is a fucking idiot. If two people are willing combatants, they should be able to fight each other if you believe in civil liberties at all. You don't get to legislate based on whether you like something or not. Fuck this guy and fuck his polls.

Sarcasm Spasm- March 13, 2009 at 9:49 am

I totally agree with Bob.
They should also stop talking about crime on the news because it's damaging to kids. Stop documenting wanted criminals. Let's also stop warning kids about pedophiles and strangers because it will take away their innocence, in a completely different way from what a pedophile has in mind.

Juan Blanco- March 13, 2009 at 9:48 am

He is just a stubborn old fool.. Probably Ken Shams real father....

Rear Naked Anal- March 13, 2009 at 9:44 am

I guess he's alright looking, but I don't think he's particularly intelligent. 2 out of 5.

I H8 Reilly- March 13, 2009 at 9:43 am

Hey Reilly,

if "violence begetting violence" you should stop speaking in public because stupid begets stupidity.

Anonymous- March 13, 2009 at 9:40 am

Good point on the similarities between Backyard wrestling & WWE

Po- March 13, 2009 at 9:40 am

Believe it or not, I actually love watching MMA for the BJJ factor, not the violence.
There's nothing more satisfying than watching a skilled BJJ practictioner submit an opponent who is a skilled striker. That's the appeal for me. Two talented professionals, showcasing various Mixed Martial Arts at the best of their ability, to win a bout. It's just beautiful.

Kadumel- March 13, 2009 at 9:40 am

Good point New Guy.

Anonymous- March 13, 2009 at 9:39 am

He's saying he has a problem with "Damage" being the goal. I don't see the problem in changing the wording. The real problem is that he's probably not on the payroll and obviously irritated that someone else is. I don't think it's fair that MMA should be singled out for lobbying.

The sport is so new there are obviously going to be changes. It feels like there is a desire to watch this sport. One man isn't going to change this desire. New York will eventually find a way to make it profitable for the state. Or they will continue to watch the profits go to other states.

New guy- March 13, 2009 at 9:35 am

the WWE has people getting punched, kicked, slammed through tables, hit with chairs, and glorifies violence more than anything else....Granted, I realize this is "fake" but how many 9 year olds watch MMA vs WWE...how many of those same kids tried doing one of the things the saw and got badly hurt doing it. New York holds these events with regularity. whats reily's stance on that? Would he feel that much better if the UFC did a 10 second "don't try this at home" commercial before every fight or every event at least? Thats all the WWE does. New York seems fine with that.

Dr. Gonzo- March 13, 2009 at 9:34 am

Good read Ben

Project Mayhem- March 13, 2009 at 9:29 am

I suggest a group of guys tie him down and threaten to remove his balls in a public bathroom just before he goes off to a meeting.

Stupid N00b- March 13, 2009 at 9:27 am

This guy is a slick politican, I don't think for a second that he's just an idiot. He has people who support him that don't want to see the UFC in New York. All this BS is just a clever smoke screen. The real reason most likely has to do with labor unions, but that's just speculation on my part.

Kadumel- March 13, 2009 at 9:26 am

Ben - You need to get a new picture up on that SI.com artice : ). Congrats on getting the article published!

Kadumel- March 13, 2009 at 9:23 am

Guys, you have to understand one thing. In a battle of wits, you look worse when you are badgering your opponent instead of simply stating facts.

Saying things like "Oh he is ignorant" without supporting your statements makes him think he won. He thinks that what he says is right, and unless you can convince him otherwise, or make it obvious that you have facts to back it up and he is going off of opinion, he will truly believe that this was a winning arguement for him.

rokabee- March 13, 2009 at 9:20 am

I don't get why he's only against mma, not boxing or kick boxing but in kick boxing you can still kick some1 in the head. Doesn't he realize mma is safer than boxing....LOL @ Dave double-u